Islamabad: A new analysis of Pakistan's Labour Force Survey 2024-25 has shed light on a significant gender disparity in education between Pakistan and India, revealing that while Pakistani men are keeping pace with their Indian counterparts, Pakistani women are a generation behind. The study, conducted by Gallup Pakistan Digital Analytics, compared 325,445 respondents from Pakistan against India's Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023.
According to Gilani Research Foundation, the findings highlight that 16% of Pakistani men in their twenties are illiterate compared to only 4% of Indian men in the same age group. Notably, Pakistani men have a higher secondary education attainment rate at 54%, surpassing the 38% of their Indian peers. However, the education landscape for women in Pakistan presents a stark contrast, with 34% of women in their twenties unable to read or write, a figure much higher than the 7% illiteracy rate among Indian women.
The analysis draws a generational comparison, showing that while Pakistani men have made rapid progress across generations, women continue to lag significantly. For instance, 84% of Pakistani women above seventy are illiterate, compared to 72% of Indian women. Among women in their forties, 55% in Pakistan are illiterate, compared to 27% in India. This lag persists among younger generations, with Pakistan's 20-year-old women experiencing an illiteracy rate of 34%, akin to Indian women in their forties.
Despite the challenges, Pakistan demonstrates strengths in secondary education for men, with significant investments that have paid off. However, the transition to higher education remains a challenge, with only 12% of Pakistani men in their twenties having a university education compared to 22% in India. The disparity is more pronounced among women, who trail behind both in literacy and higher education attainment.
The economic implications of this educational gap are profound. Maternal literacy is linked to critical development indicators such as child health and economic productivity. Pakistan's female illiteracy rate is a key factor in its high child stunting rate and low female labor force participation. Closing this literacy gap could potentially add 6-8 percentage points to Pakistan's GDP, translating to a significant economic uplift.
The study underscores the urgent need for policy interventions to bridge the gender education divide and harness the potential benefits of improved female literacy and education for Pakistan's economic future.